The Celtics finished Summer League winning 4-of-5 with Baylor Scheierman playing well outside of his shooting struggles, Jordan Walsh fitting in offensively and shooting efficiently, while Hugo González showed his strengths and weaknesses playing through fatigue.
Boston now awaits training camp in two months with some business unfinished following a transformative offseason that left the former championship roster transformed outside of its core.
Here’s what else to watch for…
- Boston did not introduce Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang following their official additions to the team. The Celtics reportedly explored re-trading the players, but both reported to the team with Simons visible at the facility in the time since while Niang attended Summer League alongside free agency signings Luka Garza and Josh Minott, who did speak to the media in Vegas. Reporters in Vegas requested Niang as well.
- That’s to say that it’s uncertain whether both players will remain on the roster once camp begins. Niang returned to Boston to attend Fever-Suns alongside former adversary Jaylen Brown, who have seemingly squashed whatever beef they have from their 2023 playoff spat while Niang played for Philadelphia. Niang also poked fun at himself for being the unpopular return for Kristaps Porziņģis. Of note: Simons and Niang can’t be combined with other players in trades until September 7.
- The Celtics sit $330,000 north of the second apron line, $12.2 million above the first apron and $20.3 million over the luxury tax threshold between 15 standard contracts. That carries an $88.4 million tax bill. That places them just into the fourth repeater tax bracket by roughly $3 million, which gets taxed $6.75 for every dollar, which shows the value in even making a small salary reduction before the end of the season. For example, bringing back the $6-7 million less that most teams can send back for Simons would save Boston between $36.8-42.3 million in tax, effectively slashing their current bill in half. The Celtics could also offload roughly $6.4 million in a Niang trade. Boston effectively has until the trade deadline to dive below the tax line in full, if they decide that’s the way the team wants to go. Brad Stevens said that new ownership has prioritized maintaining basketball assets over avoiding repeater tax penalties, which requires spending two seasons outside of the tax.
- For that reason, a Sam Hauser trade without a significant return coming back would surprise me. He’s too good, his contract is outstanding and doesn’t provide enough salary relief on its own to warrant moving on from him for tax relief alone. Of course, if getting out of the tax completely becomes mandated, he would almost certainly have to go. There’s been no indication of that ownership directive at the moment.
- Amari Williams and Max Shulga will join the team on the two remaining two-way contracts while Jalen Bridges and Hayden Gray will go to training camp. The Celtics’ 15-man roster became full when the team picked up JD Davison’s option, which is non-guaranteed until January. That would place the team with 20 out of the possible 21 training camp roster spots full, and is worth noting in relation to the Celtics’ reported interest in Ben Simmons alongside Charles Bassey’s standout Summer League.
- Signing Simmons would guarantee at least part of 15 roster players, a rarity for Boston to begin a season. Bassey, a free agent, hasn’t signed elsewhere yet after leaving Las Vegas after three games with the Celtics, which was pre-arranged, according to the team. Uncertainty at the center position could definitely warrant bringing one of those players to camp, but remember that carrying a 15th player making the minimum for a full season costs Boston $15.5 million in tax. Of course, one of their 15 players is expected to miss most of the 2025-26 season in Jayson Tatum.
- I don’t see the Simmons fit as a player who stylistically plays more like a ball-handling point guard. Though he would fit the mold of playing a faster-paced offensive style. He wasn’t bad with the Clippers, though his durability and willingness to play a different way would be concerns. Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst have both connected Simmons to Boston over the past week.
- Joe Mazzulla remains without an extension, though Stevens reiterated earlier this summer that he has multiple seasons left on his contract. Michael Holley indicated Mazzulla has a 2026-27 team option. When asked about how much they’re prioritizing an extension, Stevens said the Celtics want Mazzulla around for a long time.
- The NBA also hasn’t formally approved Bill Chisholm’s group purchasing the Celtics, a formality that the Board of Governors pushed back among their expected business in Vegas earlier this month. Chisholm’s official ascension to majority owner of the team could be followed by a more vocal presence around the team’s decisions and future, though Wyc Grousbeck is expected to remain as governor for some time. Stevens has embraced doing more press this summer as the franchise undergoes seismic changes.
- There was no way the Celtics were even approaching the $18 million average annual value that the Blazers offered Damian Lillard, though they reportedly made the star guard an offer when he hit free agency.
- While Al Horford signing with the Warriors once the Jonathan Kuminga saga concludes is also widely expected, and his Celtics departure is all but set in stone, look out for the terms of the contract. Michael Scotto said on The Garden Report in Vegas that Horford’s Warriors contract isn’t expected to stretch beyond two years, and could potentially include a second-year player option that would allow him to return to free agency next summer. While neither of us have heard of it being a possibility, my mind also went to whether Horford could play out the Celtics’ gap year in Golden State and reassess the situation in Boston next year. I’ve long heard that Horford has no intention of retiring anytime soon.
- Neemias Queta and Kristaps Porziņģis will compete in the same EuroBasket group next month for Portugal and Latvia, respectively. The tournament begins on August 27. Luka Garza could’ve been in the mix to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that appears in doubt.
- Scotto also mentioned Brooklyn and Utah as the most likely destinations for Simons. The Nets can still operate as a cap space team until they re-sign free agents Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe. The Jazz lost veteran guards Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton in recent months. Of note in a Brooklyn scenario: the Celtics can’t acquire a player in a sign-and-trade unless they finish the deal below the first apron.
- Scotto, Jake Fischer among others at Summer League, mentioned that no trades came close to happening involving Brown and Derrick White, likely closing the door on the trade saga surrounding them for now: “I don’t think the Boston Celtics are here to tank…that’s not in their DNA,” Scotto said.
“I just think like they’re gonna compete … for Boston it’s all about what is Jaylen Brown as the number one option, and this could have been the scenario if he ever got traded to Brooklyn for Kevin Durant years ago. So we’re gonna find that out. How far can Payton Pritchard expand his game and some of these young guys that they are taking a chance on in free agency. What can they bring, and can they be a part of the eventual future of the Boston Celtics? A lot of one-plus-one stuff here (gave) them a little flexibility and to reset the cap books, get out of some of these penalties and again, Jayson Tatum’s injury, led to all of this. I think it would have been a little bit more of a conversation, not internally like Boston felt coming into this year this was like the like the Jordan last dance thing a little bit. There was a little bit of that going into the year because of the financials, but once the Tatum injury happened that absolutely locked it in that they had to reshuffle the deck.”
- We debated with Bobby Marks, among others at Summer League, whether the luxury tax or second apron penalties actually broke up the Celtics this summer. The answer: a little bit of both.
- There’s a growing sense of excitement around the Celtics for the underdog status they’ll enter the year with. Queta, in a forthcoming feature for CLNS Media, expressed that he and Mazzulla still expect the Celtics to be good. While Garza put it best in Vegas: “Everyone’s just excited in general for where we are. We’ve kind of been the hunted for a long time, and now we can be the hunter and go after teams. There’s obviously so much opportunity in the east with everything going on.”